Written Comments

Internal Culture

MFA’s Staff and Leadership reflect the demographic of the people it serves.

• Personnel might be more diversified than the demographic of people served. MFA may need to diversify some of its programming and/or consider stretching its marketing efforts to diverse communities.

• It is hard to answer this accurately. I don't really know the demographics of our visitors. They seem to skew mainly older and white, though there have been more younger people of late. However, we actually serve the people of St. Petersburg, a city which is much more diverse than our visitors (I think).

• I think the staff statistically are similar to the demographics of our local community. I do not think leadership as diversely reflects the people we serve.

• It appears that the staff is diverse.

• Generally speaking, no. It is improving, however.

• St. Petersburg and Pinellas county are very diverse, not only in terms of race, but also with regard to socio-economic status, education, family structures, etc. I would say the majority of MFA staff are white, wealthy or middle class, highly educated, and have somewhat "normalized" family structures. This is not a criticism, just my observation. We reflect elements of the demographics we serve, but certainly not all of them.

• The MFA staff and leadership reflects our constituency but not necessarily the greater St Pete community in which it exists.

• I think that MFA staff currently reflects the demographic of the MFA community, but the hope is that both will diversify in the future.

• Demographics for Pinellas County are 74% white, 10% Black or African American, and 8% Hispanic. Of our 27 FTEs there are 5 full time Black employees, including staff in senior and management level positions that are public facing, and 2 that identify as Hispanic...so we are actually more diverse than our county demographics.

• We remain a predominantly white institution although we have gotten better, and I know we work hard at that.

• We want to be open to everyone, of all age groups, ethnicities, and backgrounds. However, as a staff I would say that we are mostly white women (young to middle aged) with at least 4 years of college education (if not more). Our board may be the least diverse but, I am generally unfamiliar with who currently serves in these roles .

• We are an overwhelmingly white, wealthy, and aged organization, but are tasked with appealing to diverse groups of people.

We achieve this through our curatorial choices, but we are still left without representation for most of the exhibitions we mount by people of color.

• I think statistically we represent the demographics of St. Pete fairly well, but I believe there is more work to be done, particularly at the board level.

• Only 2 Latinos, 0 Native Americans, 0 Asians/Pacific Islanders

MFA’s employees represent a diverse workforce at all levels.

• MFA is working on diversifying its workforce.

• Again, it's getting better but not there yet.

MFA’s employees represent a diverse workforce at all levels.

• MFA is working on diversifying its workforce.

• Again, it's getting better but not there yet.

• In general, we have some diversity on staff (race, ethnicity, gender, etc.). I recognize that it can be a challenge with a smaller staff to achieve diversity at all levels when you have departments made-up of 3 or less people. I do think this is an area in which we can improve.

• It seems to me that the MFA is always trying to enhance diversity, after the primary consideration of expertise in the particular field

• We have a diversity of staff at all levels, from entry level, manager, and Director/senior staff.

• Again, we are getting better.

• I think that we are moving towards a more diverse staff but are still predominately white and female (as noted above).

• We are moving in the right direction.

• We are getting increasingly diverse, but certain departments (e.g., Curatorial) do not have significant BIPOC representation.

• Up until two weeks ago, there were no BIPOC in senior level/executive roles at the MFA. Two largest departments,

Curatorial and Development & Membership, have one BIPOC each. Admissions desk has one black person. Not sure about other races. We can do better.

The MFA has an established commitment to a diverse workforce

• I feel that is true, especially with recent hires which added greatly to the overall staff diversity. But even before that there was a range within the staff, and a commitment to making sure that the staff evolved more toward greater diversity.

• We do now, but it took a while to get here. We have an established intent; I don't know if it is commitment yet.

• As previously mentioned, it is a work in progress that is improving.

• If we had a strategic plan, I am sure a commitment to a diverse workforce would be embedded within it. Until such time, it isn't necessarily a well-documented strategy or goal, but it is an assumption, I believe, among the staff and leadership.

• In general, our work culture creates space for this and encourages this, and I have also witnessed this, especially in our hiring practices; however, I do not believe we have an established commitment to creating a diverse workforce. Of course, I could be forgetting something or not aware of a particular HR policy that addresses this.

• I think the MFA is moving towards more inclusive hires and there is the difficulty of the museum world being a predominantly white space, especially at the higher levels.

• It's a work in progress, but I don't believe we're there yet.

• Our hiring practice includes posting positions on job boards that are specifically targeted to diverse candidates, and we have seen Black and Hispanic finalists for many positions in the last 4 years.

• The effort seems to be noticeable only in the last year to year and a half but doesn't truly feel like a strong or dedicated "commitment." For an organization that bills itself as the community's museum and talks about having art that speaks to different global and diverse cultures, we don't reflect that as a workforce.

The MFA values everyone’s input at all levels.

• We are lucky to work in an environment which encourages open discussion. I think most staff members are comfortable with speaking honestly with their supervisors and colleagues. I feel that Covid has made communication a bit more difficult, but nonetheless we still encourage dialogue from all levels.

• I do not have sufficient information but, knowing Kristen, I believe this is likely.

• While junior staff have fewer opportunities to weigh in on major decisions, we do encourage sharing of information and survey employees at all levels on many issues.

• Though bear in mind that while input is indeed valued it may not always be acted on quickly (which makes sense; you don't want to be impulsive). And while you are always heard sometimes decisions are made that do not directly address the concern raised. However, I truly believe that all decisions are being made in the best interest of the Museum in mind.

• The opportunity to share your input and voice your opinion is given and encouraged, but how we feel and what we say are not really heard or have considerable weight when decisions are made.

The MFA promotes a core set of values to enhance equity.

• That is so hard to measure, but that is what I perceive to be the situation.

• They don't enhance equity

• I think our core values as an institution and the examples of professionalism and behavior set by our leadership creates a culture that works hard to ensure equity among staff and our visitors. Truly in our staff meetings everyone's opinions are genuinely sought after, acknowledged, and considered. I can't quite speak to our part-time staff and their worked experience, as they are not part of our weekly staff meetings, which only include full-time team members; however, when we were able to meet in person, everyone was included, as well as part-time staff. At one point, the museum was considering having staff pay for their parking passes, as the garage we worked with continued to raise prices and it was causing us to go over budget.

All full-time staff agreed that PT individuals should not be required to pay for parking, as it would disproportionately impact them, and this was unfair. With that being said, we could certainly do more to improve in this regard.

• We have not focused on issues of equity in a formal way.

• The effort to do this with our exhibitions and programs is there, but don't feel like it's top of mind internally.

The MFA attempts to reduce bias in the workplace (ex. Training team building).

• Here again Covid has restricted more traditional team building exercises, but we nonetheless work very collaboratively. We also encourage and reward excellent examples of team values.

• I do not have sufficient information but, knowing Kristen, I believe this is likely.

• I would say the MFA is moving in that direction with this DEAI initiative, but we haven't quite yet.

• Again, I think our core values as an institution and the examples of professionalism and behavior set by our leadership creates a culture that works hard to acknowledge biases and not enact on them. With that being said, we have not had formal training on unconscious biases and how to recognize them, reduce them in the workplace, and find ways • with other employers and found it so valuable as a manager and colleague, and I would absolutely love to have that type of training at the MFA among all levels of staff.

• As a part time employee our training is minimal and focused on customer service. The only bias training or acknowledgment that I have received was on Autism in relation to our Sensory Saturday Program.

• I think we want it to happen, but I'm unclear about the steps we'll be taking to actually implement the change.

• Reducing unconscious bias is something we need education and training on - which we hope and expect will happen with our DEAI initiative.

• This is forthcoming, but no trainings have happened as of yet.

Leadership Commitment

The MFA's leadership is committed to advancing equity principles in the organization.

• Even before the DEAI initiative, MFA leadership was clearly committed to advancing equity principles. This has become clearer even over the last few months.

• the leadership is disconnected from the average employee. There is not an understanding of or empathy for the average employee.

• I think the fact that we are here as an entire organization working toward improving our work culture is example of our commitment to advancing equity principles as an institution, and a leader in our community.

• I think that the simple fact that we have restarted the DEAI Committee and are working towards addressing issues within the institution shows that they are committed to at least this stage of the process. It will be interesting to see how they move forward when the hard work of making the changes comes about.

• We do not yet have an active strategy for addressing issues of equity in the organization, so that commitment is not formally in place.

• I think leadership is open-minded about moving forward in this area.

• Feel like the work towards change is happening, but will there be actual, noticeable and real changes?

The MFA's practices enable the success and promotion of individuals from all racial/ethnic groups, socio-economic backgrounds, and genders.

• Yes, the museum's practices clearly reward successful individuals, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or background.

• I do not have sufficient information but, knowing Kristen, I believe this is likely.

• Our staff only recently began becoming diversified.

• I don't know if the MFA has an established set of practices to enable this, or if this is more of a general principle that is organically or informally born out.

• From what I have observed in my time as an employee here, I would agree with this.

• When asking the general public to secure their tickets ahead of time, the information on our website requires people to fill out a “title” there is no option to skip or exempt to answer the title. To add, no option for they/them or non-binary

• I don't think that the leadership at the MFA understands, or cares, about the challenges of childcare, as one example.

Some of the MFA's Rules and Policies are based on assumptions that can lead to bias.

• Without having undertaken bias training, I don't feel in a position to make a judgement.

• I have not critically looked at our employee manual to truly know if we have done this. I would assume there are elements that might, but in my experience, I have not yet come across any that I am aware of. My only initial thought is that parents, or single parents, might have scheduling struggles that make it harder for them to perform their jobs than those of us who do not have children.

• This is a difficult question to answer because if I am not affected by these assumptions than I am unlikely to notice a bias.

• No rules or policies but think people's own personal assumptions can lead to bias.

Business Case for Diversity

The MFA attempts to reduce bias about the community it serves.

• I do not understand the statement

• Our programs are strong.

• Having very little interaction with our community as part of my job responsibilities, I feel unable to have insight to answer this. I do worry about our admission fee and how it is exclusionary to so many members of our community who would otherwise be able to see our collection and be served. Our programming and Educational staff do make efforts to be accessible and receive strong responses from our community with engagement; however, I am sure we could be doing more.

• I think that this has been a recent focus and while I believe there is a lot more work to be done, I think that we are starting to look at the right things.

• Our programs are inclusive and work to reduce bias and divisions.

• I think we have made great strides in trying to do this however, I am not sure whether we are able to gage our success (or failure) in this regard.

• The MFA attempts to broaden perspectives on global art history, which can lead to reducing bias.

Diversity is vital to the MFA’s success.

• I think it is crucial to the success of every institution. Fortunately, the MFA is committed to diversity.

• We will never truly come close to reaching our goal of serving the people of St. Petersburg and beyond if we do not find ways to bring those individuals into our organization, be it as a staff member, volunteer, board/committee member, visitor, etc. We are 100% better together than we are a part, and I do think our value as an organization is the meaning, we have to the people we serve, and not necessarily because of our collection, or location, or our history.

• Museums need to work constantly to attract younger and new members/donors and to do so, especially in a city like St

Petersburg. A strong focus on Diversity will only grow our base constituency and introduce new people to the MFA

• We are committed to serving our community and remaining a relevant and important resource for all, so diversity is vital.

Our staff reflects that diversity, as well as our exhibitions, programs, and acquisition of artworks.

• If we want to grow into a museum that is viewed as inclusive and welcoming to all, then we have to talk the talk and walk the walk, and in this case, look the part. There are no BIPOC docents, which is pretty shameful. Majority are old, white women. The membership, board and visitors are overwhelming white and of a certain age. Diversity in race, gender and age has been a major weakness at the MFA, which does impact the success and evolution of the MFA.

The MFA's culture supports and encourages change.

• This is ambiguous. In what respect?

• The MFA's culture encourages and is always open to institutional improvement. It is particularly good at looking careful and analyzing problems to produce proposals for betterment and change.

• I often feel as though we are going backwards both in our attitude to our community and the art field as a whole. So it's change, but not the kind I would hope to see at such a prominent local art museum.

• I've seen change in specific areas, such as board diversity, staff diversity, and increasingly diverse exhibitions, but I don't know if it's at the level of being the "culture," which implies something more broad, structural, and institution wide. But we're getting there!

• We are changing and evolving all of the time, in almost all instances positively and in an effort to be better, whether that relates to exhibition presentation, programming, day-to-day procedure, etc. Change is a welcomed and encouraged thing.

• As a staff and as a museum we have successfully undertaken a huge amount of positive change in the last several years.

The MFA is committed to retaining and developing its employees.

• Rather unusually for a museum or other non-profit, the MFA has been remarkable in its cultivation of its employees.

This owes to excellent, visionary leadership. It is also great for helping employees to understand how they can improve themselves professionally.

• We have lost some very good employees, but I think don't think it related to DEAI reasons. I do not think support in the form development is offered to current employees.

• I do not have sufficient information but, knowing Kristen, I believe this is likely.

• Again, there is a disconnect.

• I must say that I have had more opportunities here than I have had at any other place I have worked. The leadership here have supported and encouraged my development every step of the way.

• Turnover seems high, and most of the people have left not because better opportunities have come their way, but because of clashing personalities and constant, frustrating differences of opinions with leadership that speak to control, power and micromanaging issues.

Programs and Services

MFA staff understands its partner communities, in a non-static manner, including their culture, values, norms, history, customs, and particularly the types of discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion they face in this country. This knowledge is applied in a responsive, non-limiting and non-stereotyping manner.

• As I haven't been a part of conversations or initiatives addressing this, I'm not sure.

• I think we consider this generally as an organization, but I am not sure we have given such a specific, critical approach to all that we do as listed above.

• I don't know what this question is about.

• I think this is something that we are very sensitive to but still need to work on.

• I think we have a lot more to learn and can't attempt to be responsive until we have a better understanding of the

communities that make up this city.

• Some, but not entire staff.

Information and materials for the community are available in multiple languages.

• I don't believe that we have materials available in other languages. That being said, for the most part, I don't think non-

English speakers make up a very large portion of our visitors, or (as I understand it) of our community. I have no idea about demographics though!

• There have been Spanish/English bilingual materials available before, but it was always related to specific exhibitions.

• I don't think we have any other languages featured anywhere in this institution.

• We only currently have information available in English.

• Personally never seen anything other than English.

The MFA analyzes and remedies barriers to access to full engagement based on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

• Most times.

• I don't think that many of these issues have been really present at the MFA. But I do feel confident in saying that if there is an issue, we would work creatively to solve it, with the full support of leadership.

• I think working staff are very vigilant about making the MFA exhibitions and programs as accessible as possible.

• Again, we have strong programs.

• I don't believe the MFA does this in a formal way but it's an implied intention in much of the work that we do.

• I think we could be doing more here in a variety of areas at the organization.

• Relates to previous comment. To add, need more women/lgbtq+/non-binary artists

• I think this is a work in progress as we address biases within.

• We have and continue to work on this. Particularly in terms of physical ability and learning differences. We have also made small strides with gender identity.

• I think the MFA is taking good steps towards analyzing and removing barriers of many kinds, but there's still a ways to go in terms of our use of language, for instance, and the financial barriers of admission.

• In small ways, but not substantial ways.

The MFA's collections policies and archives demonstrate and consistently improve intercultural rigor, connection, and impact based on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

• The MFA's collections policies assume that artistic quality encompasses distinctions such as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

• During the past few years we have made great strides in adding works by people of color. In addition, our exhibitions and programming reflect a rich diversity of races and cultures. I think we are open to all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race, or disabilities.

• This is an area we have made lots of improvement but have also gone backward in some areas.

• I believe this is more the case currently than before and will likely increase.

• We are definitely working on this and improving as time goes on when it comes to intercultural rigor and connectivity. This is perhaps our strongest area for progress, but we could do a better job measuring impact.

• I do not understand this question or statement.

The MFA’s interpretive processes fully connect with the diversity of its audiences and assesses impact based on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

• I think one of the things we watch most carefully is looking at how we are interpreting art, to ensure that it is fair and accurate.

• It depends on who is writing the interpretation. Some are more inclusive and accessible than others.

• We try and with this DEAI training we will improve.

• I am sure we do to a certain extent, but I am not sure how formalized that process might be, as it is not a responsibility of my work at the Museum, so I have little insight.

• Our labels were recently completely rewritten by the curatorial team with these and other issues in mind.

• This is something that we are very aware of when developing didactics but there is still room for growth and improvement.

Personal Awareness

It is important to me to work for an organization that emphasizes getting to know people from different backgrounds.

• Absolutely. Learning about others enriches our own lives and mitigates the perception of "other."

• I am not an employee, but personally would strongly agree

I can best understand someone after I understand how they are both similar to and different from me.

• No written comments

Knowing how a person is different than me greatly enhances my ability to communicate with work colleagues.

• Assuming the person is the work colleague.

• I am not sure that is true. I think it would help me recognize some unsuccessful means of communication, but I am not sure it would give me the full pictures in terms of how to work successfully together. I am also not sure how relevant it would be, either? I would have to understand what the differences are to better answer the question. For example, someone's sexual orientation being different than mine should have little to zero impact on my working relationship with them, so I am not sure how important it would be for me to know that difference?

• I am not an employee

• I don't think it's really knowing differences, but more knowing their story and lived experiences.

It is really hard for me to feel close to a person from another culture.

• No written comments

In getting to know someone, I like knowing both how they differ from me and are similar to me.

• Yes, in getting to know someone I "like" these discoveries but they aren't essential to developing a really productive work relationship.

Getting to know someone from another race is generally an uncomfortable experience for me.

• I've been fortunate enough to travel the world and have made connections everywhere I go! We are all truly more alike than not.

• I will say, given the polarized relationship between blacks and whites in the US, and especially over the past two years with the increasing trauma the racial divide in our country is experiencing, as a white person, I feel further pulled away and distanced in my abilities to connect with black individuals. I am sure there are a variety of factors, many likely my own problem and issue, but the US culture is hyper aware of the racial divide and it feels, to me, even more of a challenge to connect specifically with black individuals.

I actively seek out experiences that could expose me to people who have a different cultural, racial, or ethnic background from me.

• I do, but I feel like I could do more to go outside my comfort zone.

• Again, I love to travel and experience all of the worlds rich and beautiful cultures.

My biases and prejudices affect how I interact with people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

• My response is to say that biases and prejudices in general will affect interacting with people from different backgrounds, but this is not something that has affected my interactions.

• I want to say they never do, but I am sure I have some inherent bias that impact my interactions with others.

• Again, my travels have shown me just how much we are all alike than not. I welcome interactions with anyone who is kind of character and a gentle soul. If we all could experience the magic of traveling abroad, we could snuff out the fear that exists. If it were up to me, we would have a requirement of all high school graduates to complete a 3-month long service in the peace corps abroad and we would host international students in the same program as well. This would help to dissolve fear and open hearts and minds.

• I would be a fool to say they do not, and if I do not acknowledge them, I have no hope of ever evolving past them.

• In my opinion people have a blank page in my book, and they write their own stories when describing who they are.

• I am not sure what my biases and prejudices are (though I am sure I have them). As such, I am unsure how they affect my interactions with others.

I enjoy working with communities whose cultures are different from my own.

• Understanding and an open mind & heart are key.

• This is how we learn, grow and connect.

My social identities (race, ethnicity, faith, age, gender, socioeconomic class, physical/mental abilities, sexual orientation) influence the way I interact with my community.

• Being a woman, one is aware of her surroundings and interactions more than a male.

• I hope not

It is important for me to show patience for people that do not speak English fluently.

• I have been in plenty of non-English speaking countries without a translator. It is a humbling experience.

• It is important to me to be patient.

• English is a hard language to learn so, anyone attempting it should be given patience and assistance when requested. I sadly do not speak other languages but have always learned enough to say "hello", "please", "thank you", No, thank you", "How much?" "Do you speak English?" etc. This goes a long way when you are a guest in a non-speaking country. Too many

Americans are arrogant and expect people to speak English to them no matter where they are.

People in poverty are often there because of their own doing.

• The statement is too vague. Not all who are in poverty are there by their own doing, however, some make very little to no effort to remove themselves from some undesirable situations .

• The system is set against them. Systemic racism is the number one culprit. I understand that I am treated differently because I am not only a woman but, because I am white, I am afforded a different experience (trying to buy a home for example) than a woman of color. It is not okay.

• I think there are many varied reasons why people are in poverty, some because of their own doing but many are not.

I feel that I am aware of my own biases.

• I like to think I am, but suspect I have a lot of room to learn and grow.

• Not all of them, but I am learning!

• I am a work in progress and am constantly learning . I am ready to do the work that needs to be done to make things truly equal and just for all. It is especially important for me as a white person to be vocal and supportive of those who are being marginalized in our society by other white people. This has been a long time coming, something that is embarrassing to see still going on in the year 2021. We can and need to do better for ourselves and all of this worlds beautiful people!

• I might understand or be able to identify my biases but I maybe don't always know how they come across or impact other people. I really want to learn that during our DEAI training.

• To an extent, yes, but this will be an ever-evolving process that I will spend the rest of my life trying to recognize and overcome.

• Working on it!

• I am aware of some biases but I hope that further education will illuminate others that I am not consciously aware of so that I may improve in this area.

• I work on this but understand that it's unlikely I'm ever aware of all my biases.